Hero - Book 1
by AshaGem
Summary: Amelia has always felt the need to help people, her best friend, her family, complete strangers. So when she starts hearing broadcasts over the radio offering 'help' she hesitates. Until a few hours later she hears the pleas of people in Atlanta. Risking the lives of her baby sister Jasmine and her border collie Pud, she ventures out to be a hero. Glenn/OC - Rated M. Vio/Gore/Sex
1. Chapter 1

**My new fanfic for the Walking dead. I hope you like it. **

**Book 1 – Hero **

**1**

Without fear we have nothing to lose, but that's impossible unless you weren't living. It is the unpleasant feeling in our gut that something bad might happen. Sometimes, it can be irrational, like fearing spiders. The thought of their long, hairy tentacle legs scarpering their way across our skin sends shivers down our spines. Sometimes it can be rational, like when you find out a loved one only has a limited time until they die, no-one can tease you for that. We want to avoid this unpleasant feeling more than anything but it's always going to be there because in the end it's human nature and its how we can evolve.

At twenty ones years of age I can rightfully say that I have been affected by both irrational and rational fear. For one thing, I am terrified of sweating profusely in public, which is why I _never _wear grey tops, those evil creations betray us within only a matter of hours, those who have experienced this would understand.

This rational fear of mine started seven weeks ago, it's still ongoing and I'm not sure when it will end or if it ever will. It came in the form of mindless, uncaring; abominations conjured up in myths and lived in video games - where they should have stayed. They looked like humans, they walked like humans, they hurt like humans, yet unfortunately, they _weren't_ humans. These creatures don't have names unless you still think they were the people they used to be, however, I can't accept the possibility of that. Unless they were cannibals, if they were then they must be living in paradise right now. I, personally, refer to them as 'them'. Others might call them zombies but I don't think I'm in a fit state of mind to actually label them; it would make the situation all too real.

The first time I ever heard about 'them' was on the news, although at the time I hadn't realised it. A series of death outbreaks occurred in a Georgian hospital. All the staff was killed in a vicious attack, from whom? That wasn't and probably won't be revealed anytime soon.

The first time I ever _saw _'them' was during a yearly festival of my town, a memorial day for a group of men who died trying to save school children from a crazed lunatic. Money was raised each year, half went to charity and the other half was spent on behalf of the fallen men. It was a day I dreaded because my best friend's uncle was one of those men. I spent those days trying to console her and hiding her from the sympathetic eyes of the rest of the town.

_The curtains were closed enveloping Norah's bedroom in darkness, the only source of light trying to fight through the thin material of curtain. The atmosphere was miserable and I was getting sick of it, she did this every year and it wasn't healthy. _

_ Norah was curled up on her bed, just lying there, her eyes staring into nothing, all I could see was the faint outline of her curved body. I wasn't even sure if she was breathing. _

_ "Let's go out, get ice-cream, anything! I don't want to stay in anymore. It's already the afternoon!" My pleas were failing; she had stopped answering me as well as acknowledging me. I moved towards her bed cautiously, she was beginning to scare me. It got worse every year, although this was the first time she ignored me completely. _

_ My hand hesitated before touching down on her cushioned quilt, I hovered my bottom over the side of the bed, checking her reaction before I sat all the way. _

_ Only once has she made a move to attack me, I had tried to hug her and she forcefully pushed me away in disgust. No-one hugs her, no-one is allowed, but I had tried in hopes of getting through to her and it backfired. _

_ I sat down slowly, being careful to not cause her bed to dip harshly under my weight. "Norah, please," I whispered to her. _

_ She sighed quietly, I'm guessing in annoyance. "No, I don't want to." _

_ "This is unhealthy, you'll get sick." _

_ "So what, it's my body Amelia." She growled a clear warning I shouldn't press her. _

_ "Your uncle wouldn't want you wallowing like this," I pressed despite her. Bringing up her deceased uncle probably wasn't a good idea; I guess I was asking for it. I felt the bed dip heavily and suddenly I was being pressed back into the bed, her hands clamped down on my shoulders and let me tell you; she wasn't a small girl and she was putting down all of her weight on me, it hurt . . . a lot!_

_ I gasped and tried prying her hands off of me, with no luck. Her hot breath blew against my face; she was closer than I could make out in the dark. The tips of her hair hovered over my face creating a brunette blanket around the two of us. "You have no right to talk about my uncle as if you even knew him!" She hissed, spitting through her words. I tried to wipe the spit away but her fingers were digging into my shoulders, so moving my arms was a slight impossibility. _

_ I opened my mouth to snap back at her but was stopped by a shrill scream from outside, the sound of it froze my heart. Never have I heard anyone sound so terrified, not since six years earlier, since the massacre. Norah had heard it too and half turned her head to the window, so I took the opportunity to push her away and dart to the window. Opening the curtains sent a deep pain through my eyebrows, the strain of the sun directly in my eyes after three hours in complete darkness coming into effect. _

_ After my eyes began to accept the harsher light, I searched the street outside for any sign of the terrified person; my hand was already in my pocket clutching onto my phone, prepared to dial for the police. Nothing was out there; the street looked exactly how it had three hours earlier when I had tried to open the curtains to let light in, only for Norah to close them again. The only difference now was the ginger cat sleeping on top of the neighbour's car and I'm pretty sure a cat couldn't make a sound like that. _

_ Norah was beside me in a second, all sorts of emotions written on her pale face. The one I focused on was curiosity. In the hope of helping the distressed and getting my friend outdoors, I hurried over to my shoes next to her bedroom door, shoving them onto my feet. "Come on, we have to go see what that was." I said, my hand already twisting on the doorknob. _

_ "What - no! Leave it for the police, just call them. We shouldn't put ourselves in danger." She was clearly referring to her uncle's bravery and heroism, something I decided to ignore. _

_ I turned back and fixed her with a glare. "We can't just sit here, what if the police don't arrive on time. I'll call them, but I'm going to help." The only good thing about my friend being like she was that at this time every year, was that she insisted to have a rack of sharp knives on the kitchen worktop which happened to be right next to her bedroom door. She wanted to be safe and to be able to mourn at the same time, so this is what she did. _

_ Taking the sharpest knife in my hand, I judged the weight of it in my hand; with some sort of satisfaction I tightened my grip around the rubber handle. I made it clear to Norah of my intentions by levelling the knife to my eye line. Norah rushed to my side snatching the knife from my hand, a scolding glare in her green eyes. "If you're going so am I, just leave the knife. No-one needs to get hurt." _

_ Satisfied that I finally got through to her, I took the knife back from her and replaced it in the knife rack. Taking her hand, I hauled her through her gloomy flat, it bared hardly any furniture – even though she moved in nearly a year ago –the settees were new but never used, in fact the plastic was still around it. Stepping out of her flat, I felt the unease of being surrounded in darkness leave me as the twelve o'clock sun shone into my eyes. Norah followed and the sight of her shoulders tensing sent guilt into the pit of my stomach, she didn't say anything as she left her front door sitting on the latch. _

_It was colder outside than in her flat, all the windows had been closed trapping the heat inside, so it was a bit of a shock going out into the cold after the intense heat. Sucking air through my teeth, I snatched my hand back from Norah, shoving them under my armpits to get some warmth back into my instantly numb hands. _

_ "Where did the scream come from?" _

_ Norah shrugged, her eyes were darting everywhere, frankly making me nervous. "I'm not sure, but it sounded close. Call the police before we check anywhere." _

_ I dialled the number, thoughts whirling around in my mind about how I was going to phrase my words. I wasn't sure if I should tell them I was going to check it out for myself, they might order me to stay put and that wasn't something I could do. Sitting down while someone could be dying only a few feet from me, it would make me almost as bad as the killer - If there was a killer._

_ A woman answered on the third ring, I told her of what happened. The intense scream, the fear enlaced into it. I told her that I didn't know who it was or where they were but that I knew it wasn't far away. She asked for where I was, so I gave her Norah's address. As I thought, she told me not to go anywhere. _

_ With the phone back in my pocket, I began searching every garden, checking every crevice, under cars, in cars, through windows, down alleys but there was no sign of a person in danger. Norah was behind me every step of the way, her lips tightly shut but her eyes flitting left and right in a fearful haste. I almost felt bad for dragging her out of her pit; the silence and empty corners only intensified the fear. _

_The sun was high in the sky, creating jagged shadows that could be hiding anything; I could feel the heat of it on my already sun-kissed skin I had accumulated over the recent summer, I felt it on my neck, the parts not protected by my wavy golden locks. I felt glad to be wearing my glasses in the heat; my eyes wouldn't be able to focus in such a high climate. A reason I could never travel to blistering hot countries, my eyes were too sensitive. _

_As we furthered down the street, away from Norah's block of flats, we entered a small street. _Careswell Road. _The houses were fairly modern and the smell of scented flowers hit me hard in the face, as if I had stepped through a portal into another realm however it was just as empty since most people would have been at the festival. _

_Still no sign of our alleged victim. _

_Slowly, I started to get scared. Where was this person? Why weren't they still screaming? Was I too late? What had caused their scream?_

_ As I was thinking this, another scream filled the silent air, more horrifying than the last. My head snapped towards the sound, a house directly opposite to where I stood. It was modern, the garden clearly taken care of regularly from the fresh yellow and pink flowers and compressed grass. Nothing looked out of the ordinary, no-one being murdered on the front garden. _

_ I was more than sure that it was _that_ house however. _

_ Wasting no time in heading towards it, I motioned for Norah to stay back, but like the stubborn bitch she is and always has been, she followed closely behind me. Rolling my eyes at the fact she still wouldn't do a thing I told her too, I bounded across the garden uncaring of whether the grass was allowed to be walked on. Nearing the side of the house, I started to hear sounds, gut-clenching sounds that caused my throat to clasp up and my eyes to widen to the size of saucers. I didn't allow the hesitant pause in my steps to stop me as I rounded the corner and come face to face with Hell. _

_A woman laid on the ground, her hair matted in blood, her eyes open but not seeing, her mouth foamed with blood and a trail of it rolling down from her cheek to her ear. Her clothes peeled away from her body which barely covered what looked like her insides spooling out of her stomach, another person crouched over her using their hands to rake the intestines from her unmoving body. A sound of teeth crushing and grinding with a pleasured snap of the lips as if it was the best meal they had ever tasted turned the gears in my stomach. _

_ I covered my mouth trying my best not to spoil the garden with my disgusted insides. I wanted to run and wish I could forget what I was seeing. Never had I seen anything so disgustingly horrifying. _

_ The sound of Norah's voice caused me to remember that she was seeing this too. "You disgusting psychopath!" She screamed her profanities before I could even stop her, to slam my hand over her mouth. _

_ The cannibal's head instantly snapped up at her voice as if it was hearing its next meal on the palette. I gasped at the sight of 'it's' face – I was past giving horrendous humans right to actual names – 'it's' eyes were stone, unfeeling like they were dead. 'It's' face covered in scratch marks which I figured were inflicted by the dead woman on the grass. _

_ It opened its mouth and I instantly thought of it as the grin of death, the root of all evil. I expected words to spill from it blood stained lips but instead a low moan rang out, almost a predatory growl. _

_ Lifting its foot, it stepped over the dead woman, discarding her like undesired leftovers, its predatory gaze on us was clear it had found something more desirable. Unfortunately, it seemed to be in the form of my best friend and I. _

_ Taking a step closer to Norah, I shielded her from the delirious cannibal. "Don't come any closer," I warned, trying desperately to sound threatening. _

_ It didn't stop, merely answering with the low growled moan. I felt like prey under a hawk's eye, it wasn't going to stop until it got me and did exactly to me as what it did to the woman on an unsuspecting owner's garden, unless this was the owner. _

_ I started to analyse the hawk in front of me. A man, quite handsome if you took away the stone cold eyes, mouth smothered in blood and 'want' to feast on human flesh. He had a squared jaw and deep brown hair that reach halfway down his forehead. His clothes were shredded and dirty but it was clear they had been formal clothes; maybe he was a lawyer or a business man. A deep gash on his shoulder distracted me, it looked as if his flesh had been ripped away, some skin still dangling by a mere string. The blood was most excessive here, as if he had bled out. _

_My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Why wasn't he thriving in pain? How was he walking and not strapped to a hospital bed? _

_ "Who the hell are you?!" Norah screamed some more, I really felt the need at that moment to hit her. _

_ Another of those moans returned in answer, it occurred to me that this man shouldn't be human, those moans were nothing I had ever heard before and that wound wasn't something a normal person could withstand for long and not need medical help. _

_He had gotten closer by the time I decided for sure he wasn't anything human. _


	2. Chapter 2

**2 **

Carefully I pressed down on the loose board -created from broken kitchen cupboards - which covered the front room window. Sucking in my breath, I peered through the small crack that allowed me to see the chaos that used to bear the name of my town, although now, it was a wasteland of blood, guts and dead.

Through the crack I could see the front garden, which inhabited approximately three of 'them'. They were just standing there, unmoving . . . waiting and it's been that way for almost four days. Four days of no radio and creeping around the house on our tiptoes.

I glanced away from 'them' to the house opposite my own, where an elderly woman – who hated me – was also peering out her window much less cautious as I was doing. Her full body was on display; her skinny form was clad in a deep purple night dress and her primed grey hair slightly unattended. Even though she hated my guts - proven by the sneer whenever I was around her – I was worried, she was the sort of woman that had a nurse come to her house everyday to care for her but now . . . no one came.

Despite the radio warnings, I felt the need to help her, save her in any possible way. Only the thought of my baby sister did I hesitate, to take her or leave her, neither option passed in my eyes.

Stepping away from the boarded window, I turned to take in my parent's front room, completely bare of furniture that now harboured the space blocking entrance to the front door. Only a large mattress covered in feather pillows and sheets on top of sheets of blankets to keep us warm.

'_This is an emergency broadcast, is there anybody out there? Please respond.' _A man's voice, the same voice I had been hearing on the CB for the past two hours. The urge to heed his call was strong but Jasmine had begged me not too, she didn't want to go outside, to take the barricade down and expose ourselves to the horror of Atlanta.

The bombs had dropped weeks before, we had watched from the highway, the bombing could be seen from miles. It shook the ground so hard I had to clutch Jasmine to my chest.

Jas and I had been hitch hiking to Altanta because the trains had stopped running and unfortunately I did not possess the ability to drive. I'm English born and bred, the town I lived in was only a holiday home for me, I've been spending my holidays in America for the past ten years ever since my best friend Norah moved out here with her parents. Of course, at the age of eleven my parents wouldn't let me travel alone and since my mum and her dad were best friends throughout college, it only took four years for my mum to fall in love with Atlanta, the closest city to the town.

Even though, I decided to stay in England to continue my education and long term relationship with a guy called David, which ended after he caught me dry humping a stripper – I was drunk, not a whoring around, I forgot my own name that night so remembering I had a boyfriend was more than difficult.

So I've been in America for eight weeks in total, seven of them I have been fearing for my life and four of them I have spent in the bombed out city of Atlanta taking refuge in my parents' house that was barely standing with a seven year old brat and an old sheep dog.

Walking towards the old CB radio – my father's second love – I twisted the dial to lower the volume. I wasn't interested in finding help, I didn't need it, I was perfectly capable of taking care of myself and my family.

Pud trotted into the room, her head tipped to the side curiously as she stared the CB radio out, as if the voice would come back and she could somehow answer it. I watched her, my only source of amusement these days as she slowly inched towards the radio. She'd been doing this ever since the broadcasts began, coming in, slowly approaching and then leaving disappointed until the man's voice returned and the pattern began all over again.

Pud's been in our family since she was a puppy, in fact I was the one who picked her. In England we used to live in the country when I was six years old, only a few minutes' walk from the closest farm. I used to walk through the farm fields with my mum or dad to nursery every morning. My parents were close friends with one of the farming families who had a pregnant sheep dog and we got first pick.

Pud was the largest of the litter, a chubby little sheep dog with black and white patches that made her look silly. She had a huge patch of black fur around one eye and her feet looked like they had white socks on them. Her name was derived from the word pudding, for the fact on her first day of living with us she scoffed down two home baked puddings my mum had specially made for my nursery class.

Pud never stopped being a little nuisance in fact over the years she has gotten worse, it's only since she's gotten old that she's calmed down. In one way I miss her younger more hyperactive self, it caused more than a few happy memories for my family and now seeing her so laid back and chilled only shows that her life is nearly over. You could see it in her eyes and her shallow cheeks; she was no longer our chubby little pudding.

Jasmine followed not long after Pud, sleepy with her blonde hair dishevelled and untamed. She ignored me as she crawled onto the settee, underneath the Disney princess quilts I had stolen from her old room a few weeks earlier.

I rolled my eyes at her still sulking heap. She's been sulking since three mornings earlier when I told her we didn't have any chocolate left, she asked me to go to the shop to get more and I tried to explain the impossibilities of that in the new world, but she wouldn't take 'no' for an answer and now I have to endure her sullen brown eyes filled with hatred.

Don't get me wrong, I love my sister but there is only so much I can take before feeling the need to shove her head down the toilet and flushing repeatedly.

A static sound from the CB struck me out of my thoughts of my bratty sister, returning back to the table I had set it up on, I twisted the volume button till it filled the awkwardness in the room.

_"Hey you. Dumbass. Yeah, you in the tank. Cozy in there?" _

My ears perked up, this voice was new and different from anything from else I've been hearing. Usually it's the occasional _'Anybody out there?' _or '_we're offering safety and supplies'_. Turning up the volume, I pressed my finger against my lips and beckoned Jas over to me. She was there in an instance with her eyes fixated on the CB.

_"Hey, you alive in there?" _

My hand went to Jasmines shoulder squeezing whilst concern was clenching my stomach muscles hard. Internally I was begging for that person to be alive, no more people should have to die until nature decided. Unless this new fucked up world was the new natural way to die.

_"Hello? Hello?" _I felt every single inch of my body flow into relaxation but then felt it straight away tense up. That was the voice, the one calling out on my CB all day. Sucking the out from my lungs, I strained my ears to listen intently.

_"There you are, you had me wondering." _

_"Where are you? Outside? Can you see me right now?" _ At heed to his words, I moved to the radar device next to the CB. This entire tech belonged to my father, never had I been more grateful to have a paranoid lunatic for a dad. And the best thing about it was that it was battery powered, not Duracell or anything like that but one of those massive square boxes that you have to connect to naked wires that lasted for months on end.

_"Yeah, I can see you. You're surrounded by walkers. That's the bad news." _

_ "There's good news?" _

_ "No." _

My head started forming plans, I knew I had to help these people, Atlanta was crowded, you could see_ that_ from my roof. Considering what was left of my family only in this room, I knew I could do it. Jasmine was fast, clever and she could hide better than a chameleon. And Pud … well she was a vicious old bitch.

_"Listen, whoever you are, I don't mind telling you I'm a little concerned in here." _A rhythmical beeping sounded from the radar machine repeatedly; it was scanning the CB network for the familiar voice on the other end. Within seconds a red pulsing dot showed up on the radar screen with the coordinates flashing on another screen.

"Jassy go get the map." She sprinted off, Pud following behind her like a little lost puppy, those two were so close it was unreal.

_"Oh man. You should see it from over here, you'd be having a major freak out." _

_ "Got any advice for me?" _Jasmine came back, map of Atlanta in hand and spread it over the floor for me. She was silent as she did it, so I knew she was still sulking, that girl knew how to hold grudges.

_"Yeah I'd say make a run for it." _

"What? . . . no, That's crazy!" I practically screamed at the CB, Pud barked along with me backing me up for reasons she had no clue about, yet loyal to the end.

_"That's it? Make a run for it?" _He sounded as bewildered as I felt. If what the other guy says is true and he's surrounded by those abominations then making a run for it will only end in death.

_"My way is not as dumb as it sounds…" _I snorted. _"you've got eyes on the outside here. There's one geek still up on the tank but the others have climbed down and joined the feeding frenzy where the horse went down . . . with me so far?" _Jasmine pointed to where the coordinates were on the map.

_"So far." _

I cut off the CB, I didn't need to know anymore.

**A/N: Next chapter will be up soon. This isn't edited, I'll be editing fully either if I can get a beta or once my story has finished. But I would appreciate it, if someone could point them out. **

**I hope you like it. **


	3. Chapter 3

**3**

The last bit of hair fell to the hallway floor and I stopped biting my lips, it wasn't time to mourn the loss of twenty year old long hair - that now only reached to the centre of my neck - it was time to save suicidal idiots. My head felt lighter, more naked, I could feel the uneven ends of my newly cut hair tickling the nape of my neck, it felt alien after having a thick blanket of hair covering it every day.

Jasmine was in the other room, more pissed than before because of the loss of her own hair. I didn't come out clean though, her small yet incredibly sharp nails drew blood on my hands. Hairdressing wasn't something I studied in University, so I felt a bit guilty and I knew I deserved her pissed off glare.

Walking into my parent's kitchen, a place that reflected their personality most, from the dull faded curtains to the cat food scattered over the floor. A clang erupted from the sink as I dropped the scissors into it with bits of my hair woven around it; I refused to look at it any longer. I loved my hair . . . or my old hair however it was a necessity, I've seen the way those 'things' grab their prey, clutching on for dear life so they can hold their victim down as they tear through living flesh.

That wasn't going to happen to Jasmine . . . or me.

Our bags were full and ready. Jasmines bag was the lightest on her tiny shoulders, she was fleetingly quick and her ability to hide in small places worked well over the years, especially for hide and seek.

I wasn't sure if we would be coming back, you can never be sure these days. This was the first time we were leaving the house to go more than a few streets away, so we had to be ready for anything. I knew I was risking our lives, more importantly I was putting my baby sister's life at risk for a bunch of strangers and there was no excuse for that however I couldn't just sit there.

So far I've killed four of 'them' and each time was more terrifying than the last, I don't think you could ever get used to those flesh eating killing machines, especially when half of them still looked like humans. The first time I killed one was the first time I ever saw one before I realised what they really were and I realised too late which resulted in me killing me best friend as well.

Our first failure was to believe those things had an inch left of humanity, we tried to reason, we tried to beg and we tried to fight back with our hands but by the time I had wrenched a loose slab of wood from the garden fence the suited man had already ripped away the flesh of Norah's throat.

A whimpered moan escaped my lips at the memory, clenching my jaw I forced it from my mind as I hooked my backpack over my shoulders and joined my sister at the back door, her sullen features didn't help my mood. Taking her tiny shoulders in my hands, I levelled my face with hers. "You quit this now!" I hissed, careful to keep my voice down. "Acting like a spoilt brat out there won't do you any good . . . so, young lady, you better do everything I say. Don't say a word and stay as close to me and Pud as you can. You hear me?"

She nodded her head frantically, eyes wide and uneven hair flaiing around her forehead. Kissing her chubby pink cheeks I told her I loved her because even though she annoyed the hell out of me, I've never loved anyone more, I wouldn't change her for the world . . . well maybe a few things.

Hoisting the backpacks securely on our shoulders, I slipped Pud's lead over her head and twisted it around my wrist tightly. It wasn't that I thought she would run off, she just didn't trust anyone anymore so she was more likely to attack on sight and I couldn't have her do that when we saved those idiots on the CB, she had to know they weren't going to attack us first.

Twisting the cold metal handle of the backdoor, I ushered the two of them ahead of me and I followed closing the door behind me, hoisting the handle up to make sure it was closed tightly. There might be chance we could come back some day and I wanted to make sure it was safe to do so, so I locked the door, hiding the spare key under my mother's plant pot next to the door.

In all honesty, nothing looked different from atop the stone steps that led down into the back garden. The sun was still high in the sky with its burning rays instantly seeking out our bare skin making it warmer outside than in and only a few grey clouds promised a tusk of rain later on.

Although the grass was overgrown from being unattended for over a month, the flower beds were freshly alive with roses and other assortments of exotic flowers my mother loved so much. She didn't even need to be here to tend them. Jasmine hopped down the steps, following the muddy trail that was named the garden path – my father didn't have enough time to lay down all the slabs before 'they' came – she skipped over the slabs he _had _lain, all the way to the shed at the end of the garden that had weeds beginning to grow up its walls. She stopped at the back gate and peered through the man-made holes I had punctured weeks earlier into the wood.

Steps behind her, I pressed my face up against the wood careful to not get any splinters. Through my little view finder I could see the back alley, a long narrow path that created a maze to the inner city. Cemented walls towered on either side of the path, no longer pillars of privacy for the people who lived on the other side, now they looked more like a cage, a trap if ever 'they' got smart enough to chase their victims down back alleys. Every single time I went to take a step into that alley my heart would start pounding against my rib cage, making it hard to breathe every moment I spent enclosed within those unbreakable walls. Right at the end of the alley was two curved paths that if you went right, you'd end up at the local shops and if you went left you were well on your way to heading to the inner city that took about a good twenty minute walk to reach.

"Stay close to me, if I say run, come straight back here and wait only five seconds, if I don't come through or you can't hear me, you lock the gate. Get in the house and shove the table up against the back door and hide." I snapped my eyes down to her; she tilted her head to look up at me with her lips sucked in through her teeth.

"Okay, but Amelia do we really have to do this?" Something clenched my stomach at the way her babyish voice sounded so mature and concerned, in that moment I felt like the child while she stood so tiny yet so grown up, I almost forgot about her endless days in a sulking tantrum.

Almost.

"Those people need my help." I said firmly.

"But why? We don't know them."

With an irritated sigh, I snapped open the gate lock. "This world is too full of death sweetheart; I would rather save one life then not save any at all."

I didn't wait for her reply as I picked up the shovel I had leaned against the gate in one hand and opened the gate with the other. Slowly I drew the gate towards me careful to not make the rusted hinges of the gate creak halfway through, holding my breath I pulled it open enough so we could slide through without having to open it the whole way.

Once we were fully exposed in the alley I set the gate back into place, not once taking my eyes from the end of the alley. I've only ever seen a couple of 'them' pass through here, but taking too many chances in this world would be a death sentence.

Finally I allowed air back into my lungs as I tightened my grip around the shovel, I had knifes in both of my tanned combat boots but they were for emergencies. Getting up close and personal wasn't something I exceeded in, in fact the one time I was in close proximity with one of those 'things' I almost had a panic attack mid fight, but by sheer luck I had stabbed the fucker through the head, it wasn't as if I could have asked for time out so I'm extremely glad it had panned out the way it did, even though I was still getting the fuckers guts out of my hair a week later.

Reaching the end of small alley to the two way junction, I had a white knuckle grip on the shovel and Pud was tugging on the lead around my wrist, I jerked her back harshly as she went to walk around the corner. Sometimes I wondered how she wasn't dead; she would walk blindly into danger if I wasn't here.

Pressing my back up against the wall, feeling the jagged sharp texture through my thin sweater I was careful not to move to suddenly whilst I was leaning against it so as not to graze my skin. I wasn't sure if those things could smell blood through the air and I wasn't planning on finding out, not in that alleyway for one thing.

Peering around the curve to the left path, I listened intently for the sound of their moans; nothing reached my ears as I did a slow crab-like walk around the corner, keeping my back to the wall so I could keep my eyes on both exits. Images started flooding into my mind of being overwhelmed causing me to grit my teeth and inwardly curse myself for purposely building up my own panic.

Although the images caused me to go faster and before I knew it, all three of us were safely around the corner and only a few feet from the small car park. I glanced longingly at the three cars sat idle outside their garages wishing I could just jump in one and go, however before this whole thing started I never saw a reason to learn how to drive those hazardous metal contraptions since I spent most of my time on planes and trains.

I was tempted to just wing it and try but I was unsure if any of them had car alarms, if I could drive it wouldn't matter since I could be out of here before any of them could show up, yet since I had no idea what did what we'd be overwhelmed in minutes.

So ignoring the useless contraptions, I ushered Jasmine in front of me and we took a quick jog over the gravel that protested beneath our feet, rather loudly to my discriminating ears. If I could choose for those human eating crazies to be deaf rather than have the most distinctive hearing, then I think it would be pretty obvious to what I would choose.

My life now revolved around basic rules;

Help those who need it.

Be as quiet as possible.

Never take shortcuts unless you know _exactly_ where you are going.

Always have a backup weapon for the backup weapon.

And wear good durable shoes – it would do you no good if your shoes were less than perfect.

I'm sure over time I would have more rules but at that moment I couldn't think of anymore, not because there weren't any but because I really just couldn't conjure up anymore in my mind. You see I had a very time selective mind, sometimes I could have a really good idea to something so obvious and yet other times I couldn't tell an elephant from a rat's ass.

Our safety was short-lived as we reached the other side of small car park, a groan equal to a sirens song reached my ears causing me to stop in my tracks much to the gravels pleasure and look back over my shoulder. I should have kept going; I should have just started running and never look back because as one of those things filled my vision, three more joined it and then three more after that. Every single fibre of my being frosted and stiffened as I realised their predatory eyes had already spotted us and their claw bent fingers were already tearing at the air reaching with desire for our living flesh.

Jasmine squealed from beside me while Pud started tugging harder on her lead, jerking my wrist hard making the shovel clamber to the ground with a clang that seemed to ricochet off every surface making the eyes of my predator fill with sick excitement.

Once I realised I had dropped my most reliable weapon, my whole body set on fire and I was jerked out of my comatose fear. Shuffling down my knees to pick up the shovel I cried for Jasmine to run and wriggled my wrist from the lead to allow Pud to follow her, she followed with no hesitation which I wasn't surprised by; Pud would stick with Jas to the end.

Firmly taking back my weapon I scrambled to my feet and judged the distance between the predators and my little sister. They wouldn't reach her before I would but they would be bound to reach us before we got out of the car park, so I needed a distraction. Which was when the useless became the most useful; at least I hoped it would.

Taking a trick I had seen most from the bratty children back in England, I bent back down and took a fistful of gravel and prepared to propel them towards the nearest car – guilt flooded me for the owner of the car – with all the strength I could muster I launched the gravel from my hand and quicker than I've ever been before I took back my defensive stance and ground my feet against the rest of the vengeful gravel.

As I suspected from my earlier temptations, the car I had abused with tiny rocks began to scream out in agonising disdain. The guilt crept back in but I forced myself to ignore it as I watched only a couple of 'them' begin to get distracted by the shrill alarms. The others only hesitated in their steps before deciding I was more desirable however those few seconds gave me my chance to pounce after my sister and Pud, they were far ahead now, nearing the tall fence that led out to the main road, the gate was close so It took me to push every muscle in my body to catch up with her and launch myself at the wood – probably giving myself splinters in the process – that crunched under my forced weight.

I kept falling which at that moment was the best thing that could have happened because if I hadn't it would have meant I was wrong about the weak hinges and we would have been devoured. So I didn't really mind that when I hit the ground, pain rippled up from my elbow with a sickening crunch and my teeth clamped down hard on my tongue flooding my mouth with a warm liquid.

Gasping, I pushed to my feet and started to follow behind Jasmine and Pud again who were already crossing the deserted main road, the road was clear of debris and cars which should have made me pause to question why but at that moment it was a 'actions first, ask questions later' sort of situation.

We ran to the large playing field that used to be Puds walking territory, I think the dog must have realised that because she barked in excitement and her fluffy tail began to wag furiously back and forth. My eyes widened when I realised she thought it was play time, for an old dog she really was such a boisterous 'teenager' sometimes.

Racing forward I snatched her lead that was dragging on the floor behind her and jerked her to the side, so she would get back on track. It was definitely not time for that sort of 'walky'.

The wailing of the car alarm behind us started fading and with one look behind us I realised we had lost our unwanted visitors however I didn't take that as a sign that they wouldn't find us again.

Another rule.

Don't expect your home free until you're behind locked steel doors.

I'm not sure how long we were running for but by the time we stopped we had reached the inner city and Jasmine was panting so heavily I thought she was going to faint, her face was bright red. Without hesitation I ripped the bag from my shoulders, unzipped it all the way, took out of flask of water and shoved it down her throat.

Pud was on the ground, her eyes closed and her tongue lolling out and her stomach raising and falling so rapidly like Jasmine that I realised I was the same. Pulling a small bowl from the bag I took out another flask, filled the bowl to the brim and placed it in front of the dog, who didn't waste time in opening her eyes to devour the contents.

I gulped down the rest of the water that didn't fill the bowl, it felt like my throat was burning as the water flowed down. I almost choked on how fast I was chugging it down.

"What's that sound?" Jasmine's voice penetrated the silence.

My eyes snapped to her, instead of answering I cocked my head and listened. It was like a whirling sound, like the car alarm but more dramatic and it was getting louder as I listened. Within moments I heard the roar of a car's engine, which almost broke my neck because my head snapped up so quickly I felt it crick.

"That's a human. It's them!" Shoving the flasks and empty bowl back into my backpack, I lifted Jasmine up to her feet with my hand under her armpit. "Come on!"

We started running along the curb, this time towards the unknown. I didn't bother holding onto Pud's tightly anymore; she was following willing after I had just relieved her thirst.

I could hear the car and its alarm so clearly now that it was clear it was only around the corner, so I just need to make sure the driver saw us.

A red car appeared skidded ever so recklessly around the corner, it was clearly a sports car and whoever was driving had obviously fallen in love, I couldn't blame them. It was heading towards us rapidly; I almost thought they wouldn't see us.

It skidded to a stop beside us, the tires almost bursting from the hot rubber smell burning off. The passenger door popped open and an Asian guy peered out, grinning wildly.

"Come on, jump in."

**Well, it's late but it's here. I hope you like it.**


	4. Chapter 4 part 1

**Chapter 4**

For a few moments I stared into the eyes of one of the cutest boys – man – I have ever seen, a blush was creeping into my cheeks and I forgot everything. The people I wanted to save, my sister and dog hiding behind me, the whirling sound of the sports car and the new threatening world of flesh eating dead things. Only this man and his adorable shiny white smile that glowed as brightly as the sun and dark tanned skin to match his black hair under a baseball hat that shielded his Asian authentic eyes.

It was only as those eyes narrowed that I realised I wasn't moving; I was staring and probably drooling. "Are you coming or what? Cause . . ." He looked at something behind me. "We'll be having company if we don't get a move on."

Without answering him, I twisted my head to look over my shoulder and gasped. Our friends were back except they weren't alone, tens, no, hundreds of dead meat eaters were shambling towards us from the tree line, I didn't wait to question how they had caught up so quickly instead I wrapped my hand around Jasmines arm and jerked her ahead of me making her face plant the car. She didn't bother complaining only complied and threw herself into the back seat out of my view. I nudged Pud with my knee for her to follow my sister but she wouldn't move, her tail and ears stood on end, her legs bent into a crouch as she barred her gnarling teeth at our dead pursers.

"Pud, come on." I hissed as I yanked on her collar with all my strength, she barely moved as a growl ripped through her throat, I was sure she would start frothing from the mouth. Grinding my teeth, I wrapped my arms around her and lifted her from the ground, immediately she began struggling, swinging her head from side to side and kicking out her legs. As I tried to shove her into the car, her head flew back into my nose, hard enough that I could smell blood.

Without remorse I forcefully rammed her into the backseat, shoved the passenger back into position and flopped into the car. Pud's head appeared as I reached back out to close the door, licking my teeth in spite I slammed the door in her face.

_Stupid dog. _

Cradling my nose, I watched as the shambling dead fell onto the car making the guy beside me gasp and rev the engine. My eyes focused on one of the dead that was currently trying to eat through glass, a woman, she looked young, braces were attached to her teeth that were adorned with pieces of flesh and blood. Her blank eyes were trained on me, her prey, but I didn't focus on not being her meal ticket right then for I noticed the skin around her eyes and down her cheeks were smeared in black, as if she were crying or _had _cried.

"Wait a minute . . ." I said.

My heart clenched and for one second I wasn't afraid of her intentions to rip me apart, instead I felt sympathy. She used to be just like me, afraid to become a mindless walking dead but here she was among many others who had shared her same fate. At that moment I wanted nothing more than to put her out of her misery.

I turned to the driver with my hand still cradling my nose. "Do you have a gun?"

His head snapped to mine, his eyes wide under his hat. "W-why?"

I held out my hand unable to answer him with a decent answer, within seconds a huge weight settled onto my palm. From watching television shows and movies, I figured to check for a safety clip.

"It's off." The Asian guy must have figured what I intended.

Nodding my head, I unwinded the window down enough to fit the tip of the gun through, immediately her mouth was chomping into the open space. With a shaking hand I forced the gun into her mouth, her teeth tried breaking through the pistol frantically but with her eyes still on mine I sensed a hint of sadness. Closing my eyes I squeezed the trigger, which immediately made my hand recoil back into the car and a ringing sensation burst into my eardrums. The car full of groaning survivors shot forward as the mindless girl fell to the earth, her soul was finally free.

X

"Can't you turn that off?" I groaned, clutching at my ears as the car alarm seemed to be getting louder. It was drawing everything dead towards us and I was pretty sure if it didn't go away soon, we were going to end up dead too.

The guy beside me gave me a sympathetic smile and shrugged. "I don't know how." I saw his mouth twitch as if he wanted to grin but he looked away before I could decipher it.

"So, are you going to tell me your name, for all I know you could have a van full of poisonous sweets somewhere?" I heard Jasmine giggle in the back, clearly catching onto my 'insulting' joke. He didn't really look creepy, in fact he was cute . . . very cute.

"Oh, it's Glenn Rhee, but you can call me whatever you want." For a minute I thought he was flirting with me, until he carried on. "Everyone has a nickname for me, g-man, Chinaman, boy . . . so I'll let you make one up for me too."

I raised an eyebrow up at the names. "I think Glenn will be just fine, but Chinaman? Who calls you that? Someone racist I bet."

He looked towards me with a roll of his eyes. "His brother is worse." He suddenly became quiet and flinched as if something was bothering him greatly.

I decided not to pry. "So you were the one on the CB." I knew I recognised his voice from somewhere as soon as he first spoke, his voice as well as the other mans had been going through my mind for hours on a loop, I wouldn't forget it for a while.

Immediately his expression changed to one of confusion. "Sorry I'm not sure I understand."

"You helped the man in the tank." I answered.

His eyes widened a seeming constant expression for him I assumed. "How do you know about that?"

"I have a CB too, or I did have. I heard you, I was coming to help."

His mouth moved but nothing came out as he slammed on the breaks of the car sending all of us flying forward. I felt Pud crash into my seat and heard Jasmine squeal in panic. Fixing a glare on Glenn, I tightened my fist and jammed it into his arm but he didn't respond, he was staring at me in bewilderment, as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"You, you, you." He repeated in gasps. "Uh, why would you do that?"

"You needed help."

His eyes roamed my face as if he was looking for an answer that would make more sense. He looked into the back at Jasmine and Pud, I tried to read his expression to understand what he was thinking. Was he judging me?

"How exactly were you going to help us?"

I frowned, keeping silent as I contemplated as to what he was asking me. How could I have helped? I would have helped them find an escape route. I knew the outer city and how to get to most places, I could have helped them find shelter. "I . . . don't know."

Glenn didn't seem to like my answer because without another word, he pressed the gas and we were off. I didn't ask where we were going but as the city began to deteriorate into vast country sides, I looked over my shoulder at Jasmine. Pud's head was in her lap and her little fingers were curled into her fur, he head was lolled on the back sleep and her eyes were tightly closed.

"My name is Amelia by the way."

* * *

**A/N: I know this took forever, but I've been incredibly busy with university deadlines and work. But I have a month off and so I've been doing some bits. **

**This is part one of chapter 4. Call it a Christmas chapter. **

**I hope you like it. **


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